Just a week after Richard's Disposal finalized a contract extension with the city, the city's other major trash collector, Metro Disposal, signed an almost-identical deal, bringing an end to a contentious effort by Mayor Mitch Landrieu to get the vendors to lower their prices.

Times-Picayune archiveMetro will service eastern New Orleans, Gentilly, the Lower 9th Ward, Lakeview and parts of Mid-City for $15.99 per household per month, 12 percent less than its old price of $18.15.

Under Metro's new contract, inked Friday, the firm will provide trash pickup in eastern New Orleans, Gentilly, the Lower 9th Ward, Lakeview and parts of Mid-City for $15.99 per household per month, 12 percent less than its old price of $18.15.

The terms are identical to those agreed to by Richard's on Jan. 21, except for the price. Richard's, which serves Algiers, Uptown, Lakeview and parts of Mid-City, will be paid $17.99 a household, rather than the $22 it previously charged.

Still unknown is exactly how many service locations the two companies will be paid for each month, which will determine the overall cost to taxpayers. Previously, the vendors were required to submit monthly accountings of the sites they serviced; the accuracy of those counts was called into question.

The new contracts are based on an annual house count, to be conducted by the city and the vendor jointly; Landrieu spokesman Ryan Berni said the first house count should be complete in the second quarter of 2011.

For now, the vendors are billing at the new per-household rates and the old house counts: 55,943 households for Metro and 66,525 for Richard's. When the new counts are finalized, Berni said, they will be applied retroactively to Jan. 1, and the two sides will settle up for the difference.

The new contracts also call for both companies to offer once-weekly curbside recycling starting March 15, a service that the city of New Orleans discontinued after Hurricane Katrina. The vendors will collect paper products, cardboard, plastic and metal food containers, plastic bags and aluminum cans. Recyclables will be processed at plants chosen by the companies.

In return for the price reductions the two firms agreed to, the city has extended their deals through 2014, with two one-year options.

Last month, as part of several measures aimed at balancing the 2011 budget, the City Council voted to increase the monthly sanitation fee from $12 to $24 for households and from $20 to $48 for businesses.

Even with the price reductions, Landrieu has said the increase is unlikely to cover the actual cost to the city for trash collection and disposal. In addition to the contracts with Richard's and Metro, the city has contracts with River Birch Landfill and SDT Waste & Debris Services, which provides daily trash pickup in the French Quarter and Central Business District.

If Metro and Richard's agree to the lowest proposed house count and if the city is successful in getting River Birch to decrease its tipping fees, the combined cost of all four contracts would be about $400,000 more than the roughly $32 million listed for sanitation contracts in the 2011 budget. If higher house counts are used and River Birch stands firm, the total bill could reach $35.1 million.